Hale Visits Hariri's Grave as U.S. Reaffirms Support for STL
U.S. Ambassador David Hale recently visited ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's grave in downtown Beirut on his 9th assassination anniversary as the mission reaffirmed its support for the efforts exerted by the international tribunal.
Hale toured the Mohammed al-Amin mosque and the memorial “to reflect on this period in Lebanon's hist” and to pay respect to deceased victims, the embassy said on twitter on Friday.
It reaffirmed its support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's “efforts to hold accountable those responsible for destabilizing acts of violence in Lebanon.”
“As we follow the proceedings of the STL, we condemn the use of violence as a political tool,” the embassy tweeted.
The in absentia trial in Hariri's Feb. 14, 2005 assassination started mid-January.
In 2011, the STL indicted four Hizbullah members, Mustafa Badreddine, Salim Ayyash, Hussein Oneissi, and Assad Sabra.
A fifth Hizbullah suspect, Hassan Merhi, was indicted in 2013.
The STL Trial Chamber decided on Monday to join the case against Merhi with the case against the four other suspects.
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